Meeting Again
by Mimiscout
Summary: Manny meets up with a Human Man he never thought he'd see again.
1. Chapter 1

_**"Remember us." there was a slight pause in his voice and the child gripped his trunk, "We'll remember you." **_

Manny laid down, his trunk gently curled around the soft trunk of his beautiful wife. Her eyes were gently closed and her head was laying against his stomach.

Manny could hear from a ways away the quiet singing of his daughter, she was a teenager now, and this seemed to scare him even more than the day that Ellie had mentioned they were going to have a kid.

That had been an absolute scare for him, actually. More than he cared to admit.

He thought back to the days in the past, with his first wife and the child they both had. It had been so long ago, and he had let ago the pain that he had carried the day he had decided to return the human child to it's family. That being said, it didn't mean all of those bitter feelings, feelings of regret welling up inside of him, didn't return.

He still wished he had been able to save his child. He still wished his first wife had made it out safe.

He still felt guilt when thinking of them both. He had failed in his job as a father. He hadn't protected them, despite his natural instincts. Despite what nature had ingrained into his system- to fight for his mate and his offspring. He had failed, and with that had brought years of depression.

He shook these thoughts off now, though he could still recognize some of his first child in Peaches. As a baby she had some of the same tendencies that his first child had had. His first child often found it's trunk in it's mouth sucking it like the human child he had once cared for had sucked its thumb. Peaches often found her trunk lodged in her mouth as a baby.

Manny was not a man who often found himself dealing with complex emotions well. That was why he had almost lost Ellie, the current love of his life- this time he hoped who would stay with him until his own death- and how he had found himself walking into almost-extinction during the ice-age.

He guessed it was all luck, he had let go of bitterness he had been holding against the human race. Now all he felt was sympathy. While they fought each other, different races fighting for life, he knew that they struggled just the same as he did. Felt the same emotions. Hurt the same when a child was lost. That didn't decrease his caution for the race, infact if anything it only increased it, he knew what he was willing to do to make sure his family was safe- he knew that this species was just as willing to do the same.

Now he sat here, holding his wife's trunk and listening to his daughters singing lilting through the morning air, and he couldn't believe his luck.

His luck.

His second chance.

His miracle.

Whatever he wished to call it, it was all thanks to that moment, where he had found that young human child. He would have never found a family in Sid or Diago, or eventually Ellie and the twins, and he never would have had his angel Peaches singing for him in the morning.

He owed a lot to that human child.

He wondered, idly, how the human child was fairing now. How old would he be? He was unsure, twenty maybe? Had it been that long?

He gave a gentle smile to himself and thought, maybe he had been a different human. Gentle, kind, but he would understand if not. A family was all there was to fight for, and you would do anything for them. What if he himself had children? It was hard to survive without hunting for the humans. He understood, he simply wished he knew what had become of the young child he had protected.

He smiled as all of these thoughts drifted through his head, laid his head back down and allowed himself a few more minutes of slumber, the gentle voice of his daughter lulling him to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Usually when I write, it's really long, but I've already finished this three-part fic, and will update sometime next week. (I'm going to church camp, and won't be able to get to my computer for a while. So It may be sat. Of next week I guess)  
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**This is just an idea I had, and didn't really see it in the other fic's. Really short. I think the other chapters are shorter than this, which is a bit embarrassing honestly. So. Please leave a comment. :) I very much enjoy review and support (and support and review) and I appreciate if you would tell me what you think. (I hope it's good) **

**Also, I have never made, produced, or really had anything to do with cartoons in my life other than watching them- though I think it would go without saying that I don't own Ice Age, it's sort of a requirement that I put it here. SO yeah. (If you do however own Ice Age and wish to give me right to it I would not object ;) ) **


	2. Chapter 2

Dark skin stretched beneath the woven covers gently laid above him. A hand was itching his back, and a voice whispering to him.

"Sleep well?" she said, laying her head down on his back.

He yawned and reached up to grab her hand in his, blinking back the sleep in his eyes. He had dreamed again of a mammoth, large, but soft and gentle as it carried him. He had also dreamed of an uglier animal, carrying him poking him with large nails- and talking to him with it's horrid breath.

The other, who he had fondly remembered in his dreams, was a wild cat, a sabertooth. It was feirce, vicious, but at the same time had a gentle side. It was like the men in his tribe who had a hard demeanor during tribal meetings, but were kind and sweet to all the children they ran into.

He knew these were memories, his father had told him long ago of the animals that had returned him to their tribe, it had become a sort of legand amongst the people, a legand that many of the children refused to believe, and many of the youth resented as many of the elders had proclaimed him (Roshan) as a sign. A sign from the gods, the spirits of nature, to be kind to their fellow animal. Thus begun the long journey of trying to grow crop in a previous desolate land, and nurse and help animals and reap the benefits of helping those animals.

He smiled thinking of all of this and groggily responded, "Yeah- yeah. I had- a dream. About them again."

He turned to see his wife's dark brown eyes lit up in surprise, "Is it another sign from the God's?" she questioned running a hand through her husbands long, tangled, raven colored hair.

He let out a chuckle from deep within his chest. "No- no. Just memories I think. Of them. The animals. Of walking with them. Of them-" he paused and wondered if he dare utter the words, "Well, it was almost as if they were talking to me- though they're 'words' were unintelligible, but they were talking nonetheless." he smiled, "It is a wonder I am alive to day. I owe those three animals so much, they saved me from a terrible fate, and brought me back to my home, and allowed me to have this amazing life." he turned over to look at his wife directly. He reached up and ran a hand down her face, smilng knowing how lucky, blessed he was to have the life he had.

A tiny wail reached his ears from the corner of the tent and his wife kept their intense eye contact for a moment before she bent down and pecked his lips before walking over to the corner to take care of their child.

He found himself propped up on his arm stairing at his wife holding their child in her arms, young- just barely a month old, and felt a warmth that started deep in his heart spread to every limb in his body.

He was trully blessed.

And he truly owed those animals a lot.


	3. Chapter 3

_**"Remember us." there was a slight pause in his voice and the child gripped his trunk, "We'll remember you." **_

Road trip.

Manny despised the word.

He despised the entire thing.

Who would want to spend all of their life running around with these loud, obnoxious animals?

Crash, Eddie, Sid, and peaches were all making a terrible ruccus in the back, and Diago wasn't helping with his annoying banter with Sid.

Ellie, too, often through in a line in the banter, in short it was not Manny's 'thing'. It irritated him, and couldn't he just have _quiet _for once?

He grumbled and kept walking, speeding up a bit, allowing himself room to brood away from his wife's cheery mood.

In all of his brooding, on the path of their rode trip (to some place Ellie had insisted they visit, as she had seen it when she was a kid) he didn't catch the noise of footsteps around him.

It wasn't until he had nearly run into the human that he noticed it.

He stopped, frozen. His eyes slanted and his muscles froze. Fear gripped from deep inside of him, and he reared back, _"Ellie! Run!" _chatter stopped as Diago rushed forward to help stand at the front of the herd. Eddie and Crash grabbed hold of his tail and jumped up to try and defend Peaches and Ellie to.

Sid walked forward, still very much thinking to himself and let out a, "Hey! What's the problem?" The human stood stock still in front of them all.

He had long raven hair, and a stunned look upon his face.

Ellie had been backing up, pulling their teenage girl with her, when suddenly something dawned on Manny.

"No." He murmured to his wife, "Stop. I-I- think I know this human."

Diago cast a glance up to him as Sid walked forward and eventually fell down on his face, "Whoops," he said irritated, "can't a sloth get anywhere now days?"

And he was right infront of the human, he froze himself and the human looked down at the sloth, reached his hand out and poked him. Sid's eyes were as wide as saucers and he reached up and poked him back, unsure.

"IT'S HIM! Heeeyyy! Guys! Look! It's the little baby from-from forever ago!"

Diago still stood at attention while Manny moved forward and leaned his head forward to really get a good look at the kid.

Well, he wasn't a kid anymore. No- now he was a full grown man, his face was alighted in a grin.

Manny brought his trunk and rubbed his hair.

"Wow." he said, and then brought his trunk up and gestured to Ellie, "Ellie, come here. Bring Peaches. Be slow, we don't want to scare him off."

Ellie took a hesitent step forward, along with Peaches, peaches poked her head out from around her mothers trunk, and looked at the human man with curiousity.

The man was grinning ear to ear, and gestured with his hand, saying a few words that none of the animals could understand.

"What is going on here Manny?" Ellie asked, even as another human emerged from large grasses, her hands gripped around a tight bundle of cloth.

"This- this is the boy we rescued from- well from Diago's old heard." he murmured as a woman human looked unsurely up at Manny and Ellie, before holding her Bundle up for the large Mamoth to see. It was a baby, it brought back many memories from years ago when he had helped a baby back to it's pack- looking just as this one did now.

He gestured to Peaches, "Come here, I want him to see you-" he murmured. "And, I would really like you to meet him."

Peaches walked forward and stood infront of Manny. The human smiled widely, and the woman came forward a bit to get a closer look at the young female mamoth. Peaches reached up, and touched the squishy face of the young human. The young human reached it's arms out and clutched her trunk in a tight hug. She stood stiff for a moment, and then let out a small chuckle. "It's so adorable dad." she said happily coming forward to get a better look, becoming more trusting of the humans.

There was a yell of other voices from the other humans from far off, and the human man turned his head aroound and stared off into the distance, before gesturing to his wife, and gave her a hug before speaking words and letting her run off.

Then the Human man came forward and got close enough to reach Manny's trunk and gave it a tight hug.

Warmth washed through manny, and words that he could not understand came out of the humans mouth, but the meaning was very clear to him, "Thank you." he was saying to Manny.

He smiled looked at the human, and said, "No. Thank _you_."

There was a moment, unlike any moment before this, where a meaning so profound passed between Man and animal, both extremealy grateful for the other, and both understanding that consiousness of the other was just as important as the consiousness of self.

And with that, the Human man walked away, and Manny never saw him again, but the meaning of that interaction was something that would forever changed his life for the better, again.


End file.
